Man faces Measure 11 charge for injuring GP cop
Jun. 2—A man will face a Measure 11 assault charge for allegedly kicking a female Grants Pass police officer in the head with a work boot.
Nathaniel Paul Wytcherley, 53, appeared Tuesday in Josephine County Circuit Court on charges of second-degree assault and assaulting a police officer. He is accused of a May 28 attack that caused serious head injuries to a Grants Pass police officer working the Boatnik festival.
The officer lost consciousness for an estimated 10 to 20 seconds shortly after 7 p.m. Friday after Wytcherley allegedly kicked the woman in the face with a "large heavy work boot," according to an affidavit filed by Grants Pass police.
The officer was identified in court documents by the Josephine County District Attorney's Office as Lexi Pittman.
According to a Grants Pass police Facebook post, Pittman joined the force after graduating from the police academy in December 2019.
Pittman was engaged in a scuffle with an intoxicated female juvenile that took them both to the ground in the moments prior to being kicked, according to court documents and an earlier news report. Police said Pittman fell down after the blow, could not walk and talk, and "had trouble talking and recalling what occurred."
The affidavit described injuries to Pittman's face, jaw and mouth.
On Tuesday, Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Robert Bain ordered that Wytcherley be held on $250,000 bail citing the man's history of failing to appear in court, his criminal history and because Wytcherley is held on a Measure 11 crime.
Under Oregon law, assault in the second degree carries a mandatory minimum 70-month prison sentence.
Josephine County Jail records showed Wytcherley was being held without bail on the assault charges, as well as for violating his probation on a prior assault on an officer conviction out of Douglas County stemming from an attack that occurred in May of 2020.
Wytcherley's next court appearance is scheduled for June 8, records show.
Reach reporter Nick Morgan at nmorgan@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MTCrimeBeat.
